Fire hydrant



Oct. 15, 1935; LOFTON 7 2,017,600

. FIRE HYDRANT Original Filed March 30, 1934 HERBERT/W. LOFTO/V Patented Oct. 15, 1935 UNITED STATES FIRE HYDRANT Herbert M. Lofton, Chattanooga, Tenn.

Original application March 30, 1934, Serial No.

718,108. Divided and this application December 5, 1934, Serial No. 756,080

7 Claims.

My invention has for its main object certain features of construction in a fire hydrant which, in case of injury to the hydrant due to heavy impact of a freight truck or other substantial vehicle, will confine the rupture or injury to certain definite parts which may be easily and quickly replaced and the hydrant again put into a commercial and practical condition at a minimum expense and with all the operativeness that it originally possessed; that is to say, the purpose of my improvements is to permit the injured hydrant to be salvaged and repaired for operative use with the same efficiency which it had before such injury.

According to the invention, the fire hydrant has a stock comprising tubular parts disposed end to end in aligned relation, the adjacent ends thereof having peripheral flanges and the flange of the upper stock part being of greater diameter than the flange of the lower stock part, a split frangible circular coupling having its inner peripheral edge engaging the flange of the lower stock part, and means for securing the coupling to the flange of the upper stock part, said coupling having sufficiently less resistance than the flanges of the stock whereby upon impact said coupling will fracture and the parts fall away from said stock. The coupling may also be provided with weakening means whereby the same is rendered more frangible.

A further object of my invention is to form the stock or barrel of the fire hydrant in such manner that adjacent sections may be stacked in vertical relation and united by a frangible coupling means or safety flange which is adapted to be broken due to heavy impact or a rupturing blow,

as aforesaid, the structure of the frangible coupling being such that it is provided with relatively weakened portions to insure breakage in a definite manner and place and so as to cause any ruptured and detached portions to fall by gravity outside of the stock or barrel sections, thereby avoiding injury to the valve mechanism by broken particles falling into the shoe of the hydrant.

4 This application is a division of my application Serial No. 718,108, filed March 30, 1934, for Fire hydrant, and relates more particularly to improvements in the stock of the hydrant in respect to the union between a plurality of tubular stock portions and embodying coupling members which are frangible so as to be capable of breaking upon excessive or severe external impact.

Referring to the drawing: Fig. l is a portion of the stock or barrel of a fire hydrant, with part in section, showing the construction of the frangible coupling means; Fig. 2 is a vertical section corresponding generally to Fig. 1, but showing the parts in the position assumed when subjected to a rupturing blow; and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the two semi-circular portions forming the frangible coupling or safety flange employed in connection with Figs. 1 and 2.

, Referring to Fig. 1, the two sections 2 and 3 of the stock or barrel of the fire hydrant are abutted end to end with an intermediate gasket or pack- 5 ing 6a and provide a flange-like coupling 6, the parts of which are bolted together for uniting the stock sections 2 and 3. The specific construction of this flange-like coupling comprises the following features, namely, the upper stock member 3 is provided with an annular wide flange l which at its outer perimeter is curved downwardly as at 9 so as to provide an annular abutment l0 surrounding the stock or barrel 3. The section 2 of the stock or barrel is provided with a flange 8 of less radial width than the upper flange 1, before referred to, and this smaller flange 8 is grooved as at l2, the same forming an underabutting surface which lies in the same plane as the abutting surface 10 of the upper flange I. In addition to these flange portions 1 and 8, I provide two semi-circular frangible coupling members II, as shown in Fig. 3, which are radially shaped to fit against the abutment surfaces l0 and I2 to form a safety flange, said coupling members being clamped by the bolts l4 and nuts l5 thereof in such manner that the two flange portions 1 and 8 are strongly clamped upon the gasket 6a. The ring-shaped frangible coupling members II are bored to the right diameter, so as to snugly fit the annular shoulder on the flange 8 to properly position the said frangible coupling members II. This member I! may be weakened by means of an annular groove l3 on the portion which abuts the surface l2 of the flange 8. Immediately above the flange I there are provided strengthening ribs I 8, and similarly, immediately below the flange 8 of the stock or barrel is provided with strengthening ribs l1, said ribs respectively extending above and below 40 the frangible coupling member or safety flange H.

Considering now the possibility of an injury to the hydrant which would necessitate repairs and permit the operativeness of the hydrant to be restored. Assuming that the hydrant is struck with force in the direction of the arrow X, as indicated in Fig. 2, it will be understood that the frangible coupling member II will be broken along the grooved portion l3 thereof for more or less the extent of said groove I3, (Fig. 3), as more fully indicated in Fig. 2, wherein the part marked Ha is derived from the member II and, in falling under the action of gravity, descends outside of the stock or barrel 2, and hence does not find its way into the hydrant barrel or shoe where it might disrupt or cause injury to the valve mechanism located in the shoe (not shown) of the hydrant. Under the condition assumed, the

section 3 of the hydrant barrel with its hood 60 (not shown) will be inclined in the manner indicated in Fig. 2, and which so ruptures the frangible coupling member that the section 3 may be lifted from the lower section 2 of the hydrant barrel which maintains its upright position.

As will be seen, the construction of the hydrant is such that upon severe external impact or pressure upon the upper member 3 of .the stock of the fire hydrant, in the direction ofthe arrow X aforesaid, the frangible coupling'member II will be broken as indicated at I m and permit the upper section 3 of the fire hydrant to topple over without injury to the stock or barrel sections and, at the same time, will cause the breakage to occur in such manner as to permit the parts of the frangible coupling member I I which become broken to fall outside of the hydrant stock or barrel, thus preventing disruption of the valve mechanism contained within the shoe. of the hydrant (not shown) by broken parts of the frangible coupling member falling within the stock or barrel section 2 and down upon the valve mechanism itself. It will also be seen that by the employment of a frangible coupling member II as shown in Fig. 3, in connection with fire hydrants, that all that is necessary to replace in case of injury to the fire hydrant is the frangible coupling member II itself, since that would be the only part of the coupling that would be injured under severe external impact, thus enabling the fire hydrant as a whole to be set up in place without the necessity of extensive repairs, and without any expense excepting the cost of a new frangible coupling member to take the place of the broken coupling. Furthermore, it will be seen from Fig. 2 that when an injury occurs, the abutment portion 9 of the flange I will bear down upon the outer portion of the frangible coupling member I I, as shown in Fig. 2, and in this way assist in causing a rupture of the member I I to permit the upper section 3 of the stock or barrel to fall free from its position upon the lower section 2 of the stock or barrel.

Of course the fire hydrant with its frangible coupling illustrated herein may be modified and changed in various ways without departing from the invention herein set forth and hereafter claimed.

I claim:

1. In a flre hydrant, a stock or barrel composed of a plurality of flanged parts clamped in vertical abutting relation of clamping means having .a

. frangible coupling member comprising an annular structure supported in direct contact with the under-surfaces of the flanged stock or barrel parts of the hydrant and clamped thereto by bolts, said frangible coupling member having a deep circular groove extending circumferentially and close to a plurality of the bolts, and wherein also, one of the flanged portions of ,thestock or barrel is provided with a downward extension so as to form an abutting contact with the outer and upper surface of the frangible coupling member.

2. Ina fire hydrant, a stock or barrel composed of a plurality of flanged parts in vertical abutting relation, the flanges of the abutting members having their under surfaces normally lying in the same transverse plane, said flanges 'being clamped together by clamping means having a frangible coupling member comprising an annular structure supported in direct contact is provided with a downward extension so as to form an abutting contact with the outer and upper surface of the frangible coupling member.

3. The invention according to claim 1, wherein further, the frangible coupling member is composed of two relatively weakened semi-circular parts held in close and abutting contact with respect to one of the flanged stock or barrel parts and so as to permit broken parts of the frangible coupling member to fall by gravity outside of the stock or barrel part.

4. In a fire hydrant, a stock comprising tubular parts disposed end to end in aligned relation, the adjacent ends thereof having peripheral flanges and the flange of the upper stock part being of greater diameter than the flange of the lower stock part, a split frangible circular coupling having its inner peripheral edge engaging the flange of the lower stock part, a groove in said coupling forming a weakened section, and means for securing the coupling to the flange of the upper stock part, said coupling having sufficiently less resistance than the flanges of the stock whereby upon impact said coupling will fracture and the parts fall away from said stock.

5. In a fire hydrant, a stock comprising tubular parts disposed end to end in aligned relation, the adjacent ends thereof having peripheral flanges and the flange of the upper stock part being of greater diameter than the flange of the lower stock part, a split frangible circular coupling having its inner peripheral edge engaging the flange of the lower stock part, and'means for securing the coupling to the flange of the upper stock part, said coupling having sufiiciently less resistance than the flanges of the stock whereby upon impact said coupling will fracture and the parts fall away from said stock. 7 6. In a fire hydrant, a stock comprising tubular parts disposed end to end in aligned relation, the adjacent ends thereof having peripheral flanges and the flange of the upper stock part being of greater diameter than the flange of the lower stock part, a split frangible circular coupling having its inner peripheral edge underlapping the flange of the lower stock part, and bolts for securing the coupling to the flange of the upper stock part, said coupling having sufficiently less resistance than the flanges of the stock whereby upon impact said coupling will fracture and the parts fall away from said stock.

7. In a fire hydrant, a stock comprising tubular 

